Swordfish - origin of "Stringbag" nickname

[WATU]

Hi Trivial question. Anyone know the origin of the Swordfish Stringbag nickname?
I always thought it was due to the very visible wing wires making it look like, well, a stringbag. However I read the other day it was due to its reputation for being able to have almost any kit and weapons added to it, so like a bag. It is true that as the was progressed a wide range of weapons and sensors were fitted. But I pictured the nickname as being an early thing and before it's true versatility was seen.

 

[buffnut453]

I suspect the Stringbag name came later on in its service career. Bear in mind that the Swordfish entered operational service in 1936. At that time, the following aircraft types were in FAA service:

Blackburn Baffin
Blackburn Shark
Fairey IIIF Gordon
Fairey Seal
Hawker Nimrod
Hawker Osprey
Supermarine Walrus

Note the Gloster Sea Gladiator only entered service in 1939. None of these aircraft were substantially different from the Swordfish in construction. The first front-line monoplane, the Skua, entered service in 1939 but it wasn't until 1940-1942 that monoplanes really started supplanting biplanes in the FAA, starting with the Fulmar. The first monoplane advanced trainer, the Master, also entered service in 1940.

Given the timeline, I suspect Stringbag probably arose sometime after 1940 because, prior to then, the Swordfish was one of many biplanes in the FAA.

 

[SaparotRob]

I read somewhere that the Swordfish was nicknamed stringbag because you could fit everything in it. Like those cloth laundry bags that tied with a string.
Source: one of the voices in my head.

 

[buffnut453]

I read somewhere that the Swordfish was nicknamed stringbag because you could fit everything in it. Like those cloth laundry bags that tied with a string.
Source: one of the voices in my head.

Yep...that's the point I was making (badly) in my previous post. It doesn't make sense that the Stringbag nickname was based on the aircraft's physical appearance (bracing wires etc.) because many other FAA types were of the same construction until around 1940-1941. It makes much more sense for the nickname to be associated with the load-carrying capability of the airframe.

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

Yeah, the Bag Carrying Everything is what I've read as well.

 

[fubar57]

This is from "Stringbags in Action Taranto 1940 & Bismark 1941" by Vice-Admiral B.B. Schofield. First off, popular lyric sung by the Fleet Air Arm pilots to the tune of 'My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean'.....they had a song????

My Stringbag flies over the ocean,
My Stringbag flies over the sea.
If it weren't for King George's Swordfish,
Where the hell would the Royal Navy be?
​

"....It was given the name Swordfish; the bracing wires between the wings, and its ability to carry an assortment of pieces of equipment - like a housewife's shopping bag - also meant that the Swordfish was affectionately called a 'Stringbag' by the brave young men who flew in it....."

 

[pbehn]

I watched a documentary about the Bismarck sinking and am re watching it now. It stated that it was called Stringbag because it could carry anything both inside and outside. Maybe that is what you were referring to W WATU

As an aside it also stated that the pilots attacking Bismarck were told to target the rear propeller and steering gear, everything I have read said it was pure luck, you cant actually target any part of the ship launching from over 1,000 yards you are very lucky to hit it. Does anyone have any info on this?

 

[Ovod]

I watched a documentary about the Bismarck sinking and am re watching it now. It stated that it was called Stringbag because it could carry anything both inside and outside. Maybe that is what you were referring to W WATU

As an aside it also stated that the pilots attacking Bismarck were told to target the rear propeller and steering gear, everything I have read said it was pure luck, you cant actually target any part of the ship launching from over 1,000 yards you are very lucky to hit it. Does anyone have any info on this?

Very unlikely. The majority of the 30 or so torpedoes fired at the Bismarck never reached their target, some of them ended up striking HMS Sheffield instead. Hardly the result of some sort of targeting policy, surely?

 

[pbehn]

Very unlikely. The majority of the 30 or so torpedoes fired at the Bismarck never reached their target, some of them ended up striking HMS Sheffield instead. Hardly the result of some sort of targeting policy, surely?

I read up on that last night. Sheffield was hit several times. Since it didnt defend itself the Swordfish could et in close. Their torpedoes were armed with magnetic fuses, none exploded on contact but some exploded in the ships wake. The Sheffield Captain contacted Ark Royal and for the attack on Bismarck they used contact fuses.

 

[EwenS]

I read up on that last night. Sheffield was hit several times. Since it didnt defend itself the Swordfish could et in close. Their torpedoes were armed with magnetic fuses, none exploded on contact but some exploded in the ships wake. The Sheffield Captain contacted Ark Royal and for the attack on Bismarck they used contact fuses.

Not sure what source you read but Sheffield was not hit at all in this attack. 15 Swordfish took off from Ark Royal and 11 dropped torpedoes against Sheffield before the mistake was realised. About half the torpedoes exploded prematurely either on contact with, or shortly after entering, the water. Sheffield was able to increase speed and to manoeuvre to avoid the rest.

After the Bismarck incident, she remained operational until returning to Britain to refit at the end of June 1941.

 

[shackleton]

I'm not sure when or why Fairy Swordfish were first called stringbags. The walrus was known as the shagbat. This did seem to be based on its appearance and rather apt.

 

[wingnuts]

I'm not sure when or why Fairy Swordfish were first called stringbags. The walrus was known as the shagbat. This did seem to be based on its appearance and rather apt.TheView attachment 647541

The Walrus was also called the "Steam Chicken" or the "Steam Pidgeon" from when seawater sprayed up against the hot engine, it was also called "The Pussrs Duck".

 

[nuuumannn]

"An old lady on a shopping spree couldn't carry more stores in her stringbag..."

 

[nuuumannn]

The walrus was known as the shagbat.

"The mythical creature that flew around in ever decreasing circles..."

 

[Admiral Beez]

The Fairey "Applecore" seems to have been chosen out of lazy humour rather than any reference to the Albacore's attributes.

 

[BiffF15]

For us colonials, what's a shagbat? It wasn't mentioned on Downton Abbey…

 

[fubar57]

Right behind you BiffF15 (3 Fs). I just typed in shagbat into Google Images and up pops pictures of nothing but the Walrus along with this nightmare

 

[Admiral Beez]

For us colonials, what's a shagbat? It wasn't mentioned on Downton Abbey…

Some help below…. Courtesy of Shagbat – John Knifton

People ask, of course, "What is a shagbat?" Well, according to a book I found about British military aircraft, a shagbat was…

"a legendary bird, whose reputedly ever-decreasing circular flightpath had its own inevitable conclusion".

So….. is there any other definition of a shagbat.? Well, I don't think there is, but I can offer you a couple of twos for you to add together and produce at least fifty-five.

First of all, as a verb, "shag" is a word beloved of young men down the pub, and means "to have sex," I tried very hard to think up some examples, but none of them were suitable, although the one about the hole in the fence was jolly funny. The Urban Dictionary expressed it very well, however:

"Used by people who think the term "making love" is too innocent and " f**** " is too coarse."

And what does the "bat" bit mean? This I found in a second on-line dictionary:

"Any annoying post-menopausal woman, but especially one who applies a considerable amount of make-up….She may even scare small children with her appearance. An example would be "I try to be nice to the old bat.":

Put the two words together and you have "shagbat". The sort of woman you wake up with after a wild Saturday night in a small town whose name you cannot, for the moment, remember.

 

[fastmongrel]

Right behind you BiffF15 (3 Fs). I just typed in shagbat into Google Images and up pops pictures of nothing but the Walrus along with this nightmare

View attachment 647687​

Miss Glasgow 2021

 

[buffnut453]

This thread is giving me nightmares. Please make the bad men stop!!!!